Transcription
If it was made in the United States, I guarantee you it's not cannon bear cheese. Put those little sticks away and don't give them to your kids. This is not a cheese. It's a cheese food product. I'm Dr. Steven Gundry and I've seen firsthand how cheese holds a special place in many people's hearts and shakurerie boards. It tastes great, but how does it affect your gut health? The truth is, some types of cheese can be gentler on your gut depending on the kind of milk used and where it was made. So, today I'll be ranking these different types of cheeses from S to F. Sands [music] for superfood, and F means it belongs in the trash. But before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe button to catch future episodes crafted to help improve your gut health. Okay, you ready? Believe me, it's going to be worth it. Oh, sorry, that was cheesy.
Let's start with Brie. Now, Brie is primarily a product of France, but many countries make their version of Brie, including the United States. But what you're looking for is Bree cheese that does come from Europe, particularly from France. And it really doesn't matter whether it says double cream, triple cream. You want the brie to be aged. Now, how do you know? Normally, when brie is first released, it's actually very firm inside and the outside covering looks very white. But as it ages, the bacterial production, the fermentation process slowly makes the inside softer [music] and softer, gooerier and gooer, and quite frankly for some people, smellier and smellier. Brie, when aged properly, I'm going to put it up as one of the super cheeses cuz it's a really good fermented cheese.
Now, speaking of really good fermented cheeses, probably one of my favorite on the entire [music] list is Paragano Red Gian. Now, this cheese traditionally was only made from cows that ate grass during the spring or the fall in regions of Italy around Parmesan. Now, the law has been changed so that Parmesan Reo can be made year round. But if you're ever in Italy or some Italian specialty stores, you will find labels that [music] say spring and fall grass parmesan reiano. If you can find it, you're going to pay for it. But it's really the original form. The longer it ages, the more healthpromoting [music] properties it has. Most of them is age mostly 24 months, 30 months, 36 months and so on. The older it is, the more you'll start noticing when you eat it that there are crystals in it. And those crystals are one of the highlights of Parmesan red gi that is also a super cheese.
Mancheno cheese. Now, you'll see this over and over again in stores. You'll see it at Costco, by the way. You'll see parmesano reaniano cheese at Costco. You'll see both of these at Trader Joe's. So, these are becoming readily available. So, menchango cheese is made from sheep milk. Sheep and goat milk have a very high percentage of mediumchain triglycerides. In fact, about 30% of the fat [music] in goat and sheep milk is MCT oil. This also has casein A2. So it's a benefit in many ways. Same way, the longer you age menchingo cheese, the better it is for you. So menchingo easy to find. It's an easy introduction to sheep cheeses in general. And it's also a fermented cheese.
Good old all American cheddar cheese or even cheddar cheese from England where it [music] originally came from. Sadly, English cows and American cows are mostly holing cows. Those are the black and white cows that [music] you see. Holing cows unfortunately are casing A1 producing cows. The cheddar cheese that you see in America and also in England is from the wrong breed of cow and you ought to try to stay away from this. Now, the good news is there are cheddar cheeses being made from A2 cows, but also from goats. And so, if you see goat cheddar, that makes it a safe cheese. But right now, cheddar is way down the list. I won't give it an F, but it's certainly a C.
Cannibar. So, cannabar is a, if you will, a cousin of brie. Almost the exact same aging process. [music] Most Cannon Bear is made in France or other parts of Europe. But just be aware, these names have been co-opted by American companies that have nothing to do with the origin of where these cheeses came from. If it was made in the United States, I guarantee you it's [music] not Canar cheese. Same way with Parmesan cheese. If you're shaking your Parmesan cheese out of a green can, I assure you it's not Parmesano Reiano. It's made in America. Don't be fooled by the label. So can bear is actually if you age it, it's great. With Brian Canibar, if you're not clear about these cheeses or trying to learn how cheeses taste, start with the younger versions because they're very mild, but work your way up to the versions that are getting very creamy and a little bit smelly. You'll actually get more benefit the longer their age.
Boufo mozzarella. Now, it's pronounced buffalo, but it's the water buffalo. And it turns out that water buffaloos do extremely well in the Naple region of Italy. Buffalo, water buffalo is casein [music] A2 and it's actually really good for you. But it's a fresh cheese [music] and it's not fermented. So what the fermentation process in cheeses [music] actually eats this mischievous sugar molecule in all milks called new 5GC. If you make it fresh, they're still new 5GC. And that's [music] actually a bad molecule for us. So, even though I dearly love boulo mozzarella because it's not a fermented cheese, doesn't go up with the super cheeses, it's going to go with beef. No, it doesn't have casein A1. It has casein A2, but it's not fermented. When those of us in the United States [music] think of mozzarella, we think of mozzarella sticks, which have absolutely nothing to do with the real thing. They're made doubly bad. They have casein [music] one. They're not fermented. So, put those little sticks away and don't give them to your kids.
Coha. So, this is that famous Mexican cheese that doesn't melt. The good news [music] is sometimes it's called the Parmesan cheese of the Americas or of Mexico because it is a true fermented cheese. And most of the cows in Mexico have not been switched over to the whole steam breed. So you're actually in pretty good shape. Again, the longer the fermentation process, the better it is for you. That joins the superfood [music] group. So don't be afraid of when you see it in the stores.
Pecarino. So pecarino cheese traditionally was made in the hills of Tuscanyany from sheep milk. There's also an incredibly famous pecarino cheese that comes from the island of Sardinia. [music] You hear the word Sardinia, you think of the Blue Zones. And in fact, the part of Sardinia that has the longest lifespan [music] are in the mountains of Sardinia. And guess what? These people are sheep and goat herders. [music] and they live on pecorino cheese including goat cheeses and goat and sheep yogurts. [music] So pecarino is also aged. It's also fermented. So it's joining a [music] prestigious list of cheeses.
Barata. So bara we basically take boufo mozzarella and we put more cream on the inside. So, a lot of people think about it as a creamy boufo mozzarella, which in fact it is. It can be duplicated in the United States, not using water buffalo. You'll often see this substituted even in nice stores, not with water buffalo, but with our cow milk. Same thing applies here. It is not a fermented [music] cheese, so it has new 5GC. So, I'm going to put it, as much as I love it, uh, I'm going to put it in the B category.
Sticking with America, Colby Jack. Now, who wasn't raised on Colby Jack cheese? Stop doing that. It's a casein A1 cow. It's not fermented. It's an F. I'm sorry. It has no benefit. Okay. So, how about a quick break to test your knowledge on cheese? So I have here three different types [music] of cheese and each of them come from different animals. Now your task is to guess [music] which cheese is associated with which animal. So first up we've got menchangeno. [music] Which animal do you think this cheese comes from? The sheep. So, this one is casein A2 milk and it has lots of MCTs, mediumchain triglyceride, and it's aged and fermented win all the way around. All right, cheese number two is sharp cheddar. Now, which animal is the source of this cheese? You're right. It came from a cow. Remember this is almost always a holen cow, the black and [music] white guy. Finally, cheese number three. Now, this is a guda cheese. Where did this very pale looking gouda cheese come from? Cuz most people [music] when they see Gouda have this kind of really dark orange color in mind. This one is pale white. Good guess. This came from a goat. And this is goat Gouda. The good news is [music] you can actually find goat Gouda like at Costco, often times at Trader Joe's. This has got the right stuff. So, let's [music] get back to the list. Come on, folks.
American cheese. No wonder they call it American cheese food. It is not a cheese. It is this combination of the most vile, awful ingredients that [music] anybody can produce that will never go bad and you can peel back the plastic wrapper and put it on your really lethal sandwich. This is not a cheese. It's a cheese food product. That's a real regular Gouda. Since we talked about goat guda, here's the problem. The cows in Holland are casing A1 cows. I know it gets really confusing. I go around the world figuring out what cow lives where. Unfortunately, Holland cows are A1 cows. So, even though it has a lot of things going for it, it's the wrong breed of cow. So, I'm going to I'm going to put it in the B category. But, you're much better off with goat guten. That's all the good stuff.
Everybody knows feta cheese. Now, normally feta cheese is made from goat milk. Sometimes it can be made from cheap milk, but most of the times from goat. But here's the problem. So much of the feta cheese in the United States is actually made from cow [music] milk. So, number one, you got to be a real smart shopper. You got to look at the back and find out what animal made the feta cheese. Now, here's the other problem I have with feta. If it truly came from a goat or a sheep, that's pretty good, but it's not a fermented cheese. So, it you're not going [clears throat] to get rid of new 5GC. So, it's going to join the other nonfermented cheeses. Made from the right breed of animal, but it's not fermented. So, it's it doesn't join the superfood group.
Now, here's another one that's always fun. Provolone cheese originally came from Italy and it was made with casein A2 [music] melt. But once again, you can use the word provolone to describe [music] the style that has nothing to do with where it came from. So most provolone cheese in the United States [music] doesn't come from Italy, doesn't use a casein A2 cow, but they use the system of making it. It's kind of [music] a salty cheese. Provolone is once again not that good for you. So [music] it's down a C, might be an F depending on where it came from.
Same way with Monterey Jack. You guessed it. It's an American cheese. You see it everywhere. But it's the wrong breed of cow and it's not fermented. So it's [music] a doubly bad stuff. Down it goes into the F column.
Cream cheese. Oh, come on. This is not cheese. It's basically milk and it's made from American cows and it's not fermented. Philadelphia is a wonderful town. Love you Philadelphia. Philadelphia brand cream [music] cheese has nothing to do with a cheese that you want to eat. So, it's down here too. Darn it.
Blue cheese. Most cheeses are fermented by the addition of bacterial [music] cultures, sometimes yeast cultures. But blue cheese, the blue color comes from the cheeses are injected with fungi, with molds. Now, get over it. Molds are another great way to ferment cheeses. The molds and cheeses that allow the fermentation have some really good health benefits. But once again, buyer beware. You can make a blue cheese in America using caseine A1 cows. So look for A2 blue cheeses like in France, like in Italy, like in Germany, like in Switzerland. Normally, it's a great cheese, but again, you got to figure out where it's coming from.
Guier, now guier has got a lot going for it. It's a cheese primarily of France and Switzerland. It comes from A2 cows. It's a fermented cheese, goes through an aging process, and almost all guair that imported from Europe uses raw milk. Raw milk. So what normally most milk is pasteurized to kill off harmful bacteria before the milk is turned into cheese but raw milk doesn't undergo that pasteurization process. So what? Studies have shown that if you use raw milk as the basis for a fermented cheese, there are actually far more beneficial bacteria in the final product of cheese that actually helps your immune system and helps your gut microbiome. Raw cheeses are available and you'll see the word raw on a lot of gooair cheeses. It's has a mild taste. Most people love it. So it's it's up with the superfoods as well. And if you see the word raw, do it. I I travel to Switzerland quite a bit. There's a joke among the Swiss. The only Swiss cheese that's sent to America has holes in it, and they wouldn't think of eating a cheese with holes in it. So, if you see a Swiss cheese with holes in it, the odds are they don't want it. You also have to realize that many of the Swiss cheeses don't come from Switzerland, even though they say Swiss cheese. So, buyer beware. If it says Switzerland and it's a Swiss cheese like gooair, then that's fine. But if it has holes in it, you might want to look at the back and [music] see where it's coming from. It probably didn't come from Switzerland. So most Swiss [music] cheeses are really not what you're looking for. The real ones, yes, but most of them don't [music] have holes.
Aiago, another one that's pretty readily available in Trader Joe's and Costco. It also has a salty [music] taste, but once again, buyer beware. Look for where it came from. Most of it should come from Italy, but we can make it here in the United States and put aiago on the name and it's not [music] the real thing. And it's a fermented cheese normally. So, it's a superstar, but find out where it came from.
Okay, so let's recap. So, let's see what we got. We got some super cheeses. Most of these come from France and Italy, Switzerland. All casein A2 producing cows or sheep. Most use bacteria for the fermentation process. The blue cheeses use fungus mold and that's quite okay. There's the cheeses that are usually made with a casein A2 milk that aren't fermented and these are fresh cheeses that still have new 5GC. So, use them sparingly. I admit I love most of these cheeses, but I use them very sparingly. And then there's the ones that you really don't want to have much to do with. They're almost always made from caseine A1 cows. [music] They're almost never fermented, which gets rid of new 5GC. And some, I mean, aren't even cheeses. Come on. Cream cheese and American cheese. That is my gut instinct.
Now, hopefully this experience has armed you with more knowledge about cheese and which types are actually healthier for your gut. And if you enjoyed this episode of Gut Instincts, don't forget to subscribe and hit that like button. Which cheese do you love to see on a judie board? Write in, tell me. Maybe it's not one of these and we'll tell you whether it's a good one or a bad one. Remember, eat smart and feel great. I'm Dr. Gundry and I'll see you in the next.